Machine for treating electrical components



O United States Patent [1113,540,494

[72] Inventor George C. Susong 2,961,027 11/1960 Ullman et a1. 72/424Morristown, Tennessee 3,144,889 8/1964 Cole 140/140 [2]] Appl. No.733,568 3,193,171 7/1965 Johnson et al.. 140/105 [22] Filed May 31, 19683,403,540 10/1968 Schwartz 72/384 f 1970 Primary ExaminerLowell A.Larson [73] Assignee The Magnavox Company Ammey Richard Seeger FortWayne, Indiana a corporation of Delaware A machine for treatingelectrical components, I

such as resistors, WhlCh have leads extending from the op- COMPONENTSposlte ends thereof. The machine includes a feed device for 16 Claims, 7Drawing Figs.

feeding the components mto the machine in a direction at [52] US. Cl.140/1, right angles to the length of the components The feeding 72/384,72/418, 72/424, l40/105 means delivers the components, one at a time, tothe [51 [131- CI. .1 B21f45/00 periphery ofa whee] assembly whichSupports the components Field ofseil'ch 140/1, 7 1, i h h ends of theleads projecting therefrom The wheel 72/384 4051417, 418, conveys thecomponents through a treatment station where at R f d least the ends ofthe leads are clipped off. The treatment sta- [56] e "ences l e tion mayalso include devices for forming one, or both, of the UNITED STATESPATENTS leads to a desired configuration. The treated components are2,450,920 10/1948 Shand /71 ejected from the wheel assembly aftertreatment and are 2,929,289 3/ 1960 Gorecki 140/71 discharged to areceiving station.

Patented Nov. 17, 1970 .I of 7 Sheet Inventor GEORGE Susomcs bJEFFERsWouNe A't'tornevs Patented Nov. 17, 1970 Sheet 2, of?

Inventor GEORGE SUSONG m Jan-"Enswouue AtLorrmYS Patented Nov. 17, 1970Sheet w B F FIG. I?)

N u ww U 3% e %& nu TARFA Patented Nov. 17, 1970 3,540Q494 Sheet 1 of 7RELAY M Inventor 0 JEFFERsi UouNe Atorneyq 8 GEORGE SUSONG Patented Nov.17, 1970 v 3,54o,4 94

Sheet 6 of7 Inventor GEORGE SUSONG b JEFFERs WouNca AHZOr-nQYS PatentedNov. 17, 1970 3,540,4 94

Sheet 7 of? ,Tnvenior 202 50 -20 GEORGE Susous JEFFERS 0me 200 AttorneysMACHINE FOR TREATING ELECTRICAL I COMPONENTS The present inventionrelates to an apparatus for clipping and/or shaping the terminalleads ofresistors or capacitors or similar electrical components.

Capacitors and resistors, particularly the latter, are used in massquantities by the manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment.Such units, particularly the resistors, are supplied by themanufacturers thereon with long straight leads on the ends and with theresistors usually arranged in side by side relation and secured togetheron a tape or other commercial type packaging. This matter ofmanufacturing and packaging the resistors makes it convenient to producethem with automated equipment and to ship the resistors to a user andalso makes it convenient for the user to store the resistors andthereafter handle the resistors as they are being used.

The long straight leads at the ends of the resistor are sup-- plied inthis manner so that the resistor is adaptedfor the many differentlocations in which it is apt to be placed. Sometimes the resistor isconnected between two terminals with straight leads and, other times, inorder to fit the resistor into a circuit arrangement, the leads are bentto a particular configuration. At still other times, the resistor isplaced in a printed circuit board and, in this last case, the leads areusually bent off at right angles to the length of the resistor so theycan be introduced into holes provided therefor in the circuit board.

Usually the leads are clipped to a certain length and are then bent tothe desired configuration.

Heretofore, it has frequently been the practice to handle each resistorindividually and to clip and bend the leads manually. While thisoperation can be done quite quickly, it is nevertheless the case thatwhenever a great many resistors are handled, considerable overall timeis consumed in this operation even when such equipment has beenconverted to automatic or semiautomatic operation.

Having the foregoing in mind, it is a primary objective ofthe presentinvention to provide an apparatus for automatically handling resistorsin the manner in which they are delivered by the manufacturer and withthe machine being operable for automatically-clipping and shaping theresistor leads in an improved manner and in considerably less time.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a machine of thenature referred to above which is readily adjustable to meet the widelyvarying lengths and shapes of resistor leads desired to fit theresistors to all circuit arrangements in which they are to be placed.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of a machineof "the nature referred to which will operate completely automaticallyand will deliver the finished resistors to one collection station whiledischarging the scrap cutoff ends of the leads to another station.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a device forautomatically processing resistors to effect sizing and shaping of theterminal leads thereof in a very convenient and rapid manner.

The foregoing objects as well as other objects and ad vantages of thepresent invention will be more apparent upon reference to the followingdetailed specification taken in connection with the accompanyingdrawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a machine according to thisinvention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view indicated by line 2-2 on FIG. I showing howthe components are guided into the machine.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary perspective view showing a portion of FIG. I andillustrating the forming wheels and the drive therefor.

FIG. 4 is a view showing resistors advancing between the guides thereforand illustrating how the resistors are held together by a tape.-

FIGS. 5 through 9 show different lead formations made with differentforming wheels and forming tool arrangements ac cording to the presentinvention.

FIG. 10 is a view looking in at the forming wheels and forming membersfor forming the resistor according to FIG. 9, said view looking at FIG.1 in the direction ofthe arrow 10.

FIG. 11 is a plan sectional view indicated by line 2-2 on FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a side view looking in at the side of the forming wheelassembly and showing the feeding of resistors from the guide plates tothe forming station.

-FIG. I3 is a perspective view showing a cutter element employed forcutting off the leads of the resistors.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view indicated by line 14-14 on FIG. 10 andshowing one of the stationary forming members.

FIG. l5.is a sectional view taken on line 15-15 of FIG. 10 and showingthe other ofthc forming members.

FIG. I6 is a sectional view indicated by line l6-i6 on FIG. [0 andshowing a stationary cutting member and a portion of the wheel carryingthe movable cutting members.

FIG. I7 is a plan sectional view indicated by line l7-I7 on FIG. I8, andshowing the forming of a resistor similar to that ofFIG. 7.

FIG. I8 is a vertical sectional view indicated by line I848 on FIG. 17.

FIG. I9 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the formation ofaresistor in accordance with FIG. 6.

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary perspective view showing how the resistors ofFIG. 19 are ejected from the forming wheel.

FIG. 21 is a plan sectional view similar to FIG. 18 but showing how aresistor according to FIG. 5 can be centered on the cutting wheel andthe terminal leads thereof clipped off to a certain length; and

FIG. 22 is a schematic showing of a control circuit for the machine ofthe present invention. 7

The present invention, in brief, comprises a machine into whichresistors are fed continuously from a supply thereof consisting of aplurality of the resistors in side by side relation and bound togetherby a tape or other commercial type I packaging. The resistors, in beingfed, are delivered one at a time to the periphery ofa rotating wheelarrangement with the longitudinal axis of each resistor parallel to theaxis of rotation of the wheel arrangement.

The resistors are advanced, one at a time, by the Wheel arrangemcnt to atreatment station where the leads are clipped off and immediatelythereafter formed to thedesired configuration. The resistors are thendischarged from the wheel arrangement to a finished resistor collectionstation while the clipped off ends of the leads are separatelydischarged to a scrap collection station.

The wheel arrangement is adjustable to accommodate for different sizesof resistors and the cutting means by which the leads are cut off areadjustable to provide for the desired lead length and the formingelements which form the leads after they have been cut off are alsoadjustable and exchangeable to provide for the desired leadconfiguration.

The machine is preferably provided with an automatic stop arrangementwhich will interrupt operation of the machine when the supply ofresistors to the machine is interrupted.

Referring to the drawings somewhat in more detail, FIG. I is. aperspective view of a machine according to the present invention with aportion'of the front cover thereof removed to show some of the workingparts of the machine. In FIG. 1, it will be seen that the machinecomprises a frame generally indicated at 10 in which, generallyindicated at 12, is a rotatable wheel assembly or arrangement whichreceives the resistors and carries the resistors through the treatmentstation, consisting of lead cutoff and forming stations to be describedhereinafter.

The frame I0 comprises a top wall member I4 and supported on the topwall member 14 is a pair of inclined straps l6. Extending laterallybetween these straps at spaced points therealong are transverse railsI8. The rails 18 are adapted for supporting the relatively deep "C"shaped bracket members 20 which have supporting foot portions 22 attheir inner ends. The bracket members are laterally adjustable on railsI8.

Guide plates 24 are supported on the foot portions 22 of the bracketmembers 20 and have their adjacent edges spaced apart so as to leave agap 26. The leads 28 of resistors 30 extend through the gaps 26 whilethe resistors fit in the space between the plates 24. As will be seen inFIG. 1. the resistors 30 are arranged in side by side relation and areinterconnected by a tape 32. The tape 32 is stripped from the resistorsas by stripping roller means 34 carried by one pair of the guide plates24.

FIG. 2 shows how theresistors 30 are captive between the guide plates 24with the leads 28 of the resistors extending through the gap 26 betweenthe plates.

FIG. 2 shows a photocell detector station located at about the plane orsection line 2-2 in FIG. 1 consisting ofa lamp 38 and a photocell 40.When the beam from lamp 38 to-photocell 40 is interrupted by resistorstherebetween, the machine can run, but, when the beam is established,the machine will automatically shut off so it does not run idly.

At one side of the frame of the machine is a perforatedhousing portion42 and contained therein, as will be seen hereinafter, is a motor anddrive train connected with the wheel assembly 12 for rotating the wheelassembly in the direction of the arrow shown thereon in FIG. 1. Thishousing advantageously has an inclined front wall 44 on which is mountedan on-off switch 46, and a reversing switch 48. Indicating lamp 50indicates when power is being supplied tothe machine and indicating lamp52 indicates whether or not the machine is in operation.

FIG. I also shows a receiving station 54 for completed resistors whichare delivered thereto from the chute means 56 in the frame of themachine. This receiving station 54 may be in the form of a box with agate in the bottom operable by lever 58 to discharge resistors byanother chute 60 into a tote box 62. The scrap cutoff ends of the leadsmay be delivered from frame 10 ofthe machine via a scrap chute 64 to ascrap station which may consist ofanother tote box 66.

FIG. 3 is a somewhat schematic representation of a portion of themachine and it shows the wheel assembly 12 and the power unit locatedwithin compartment 42. The power unit comprises a reversible motor 68connected via gearing 70 with a gear 72 fixed to the end of shaft 74 ofwheel assembly 12. Shaft 74 is rotatably supported in bearings 76 and 78secured to the respective walls 80 and 82 of the frame of the machine.FIG. 3 will show that the completed resistor chute 56 extends diagonallyupwardly beneath the wheel assembly 12 and includes a pair of sideplates 56a and 56b which extend between various wheel portions of thewheel assembly. FIG. 3 also shows that the scrap chute 56 extends intothe frame of the machine to a region beneath the wheel assembly so thatthe clipped off resistor ends will fallinto the scrap chute and will bedischarged from the machine.

FIG. 4 shows, about to scale, the appearance of one size of resistors 30and their leads 28, the binding tape 32 for the resistors and thepositions of the resistors between the guide plates 24 as they movedownwardly toward the wheel assembly of the machine.

FIGS. 5,6, 7, 8 and 9 show some of the completed resistor forms that canbe made in the machine according to the present invention. FIGS. 5through 9 do not exhaust the possibilities of resistor forms but areshown as being exemplary of the work operations carried out by thepresent machine.

In FIG. 5, the resistor 30 has merely had its leads 28 clipped off sothey extend on opposite ends of the resistor a predetermined distance ina straight line.

In FIG. 6, the resistor 30 has had its leads 28 clipped off to a certainlength and then bent rather sharply at the ends of the resistor toextend therefrom substantially at right angles.

In FIG. 7, resistor 30 has had its lead terminals 28 clipped off, thenbent around a relatively gradual curve so as to extend substantially atright angles to the length of the resistor.

In FIG. 8 the resistor 30 has had the lead terminal 28 at the right sideclipped off short while the lead terminal 28 at the left side has beenclipped off at a longer length and has been I relatively large radius soas to extend angularly back along the side of the resistor. As thedescription proceeds it will be evident that other lead formations couldbe produced in the machine according to the, present invention but FIGS.5 through 9 will serve to show the flexibility and adaptability of themachine.

FIG. 10 is a view looking in from the front of the machine and showingone setup in which a resistor of the type shown in FIG. 9 is formed.

FIG. II is a plan sectional view indicated by line 11-11 on FIG. 10 andFIG. 12 is a side view I2-I2 ofa still further view of the feedmechanism for the resistors.

In these FIGS. it will be seen that the wheel assembly comprises a pairof axially spaced cutter wheels a and 90!: each of which hascircumferentially spaced cutter elements 92 carried thereon on the sidesof the wheels facing each other. These cutter elements are adapted forcooperation with cutter elements 94 stationarily mounted in the machineon the underneath side of the top plate 14. The cutter elements aresupported by blocks 96 which are suspended from beneath the top plate byscrews 98. It will be appreciated that in this particular case, themovable cutter elements 92 move on the outside of the stationary cutterelements 94 and the reason for this will become apparent as thedescription of the resistor elements proceeds.

Each cutter element 92 may be of the form shown in FIG. 13 where it willbe seen that the cutter element is in the form of a short bar adapted toseat within a correspondingly shaped recess in the supporting wheel,therefor while the cutter end of the bar projects radially from thewheel. The leading tip ofthe cutter element 92 may be provided with theedge of 93 of an extremely hard material such as tungsten carbide, forexample.

Returning to FIG. 10 it will be seen that the wheel assembly comprises athird intermediate wheel 100 having pins 102 extending radiallytherefrom and carried thereby adjacent one side edge. Thecircumferential spacing of pins 102 is exactly the same as thecircumferential spacing of cutter elements 92 and the cutter elementsand pins are in axial alignment. The pins 102 are provided for thepurpose of forming the left-hand lead of the resistor shown in FIG. 9.

Between blocks 96 is a pair of forming dies 104 and 106 suspendedbeneath the top plate by screws 108. Each forming die has an arcuaterecess therein, the recess in forming die 104 being shown at 110, andthe recess in forming die 106 being shown at 112. These recesses in theforming dies extend arcuately therein on the inside faces concentricallyabout the axis of shaft 74 of the wheel assembly.

In operation, a resistor is carried by the wheel as shown by the dottedoutline toward the bottom of FIG. 10 and also as shown in the plan viewat FIG. 11. The body of the resistor 30 is positioned between the wheel100 and the right-hand cutter wheel 90!) with the terminal leads 28extending outwardly in front of the respective cutting element 92.Rotation of the wheel assembly will carry the resistor 30 up to thepoint in which it is illustrated in FIG. ll wherein the movable andstationary cutting elements will cooperate to clip off the terminalleads of the resistors. Immediately after the terminal leads of theresistor are sheared off by the cutter elements, the pin 102 forces theresistor in between the forming dies 104 and 106. The relatively shallowgroove 110 in the forming the 104 toward the left catches the pertainingresistor lead whereas the larger groove 112 in the right-hand formingdie I06 catches the end of the body of the resistor. Continued movementof the wheel will carry the resistor between the forming dies and willbend the left-hand lead around the pertaining pin as is illustrated inFIG. 11.

FIG. 14 shows the side of forming die 104 facing the gap through whichthe resistor moves. At least the entrance end of forming die 104includes a carbide block 1040 in which the shallow groove 110 is atleast initiated. This groove 110 may continue completely across theinner face of the forming die as shown by the dot-dash lines or mayterminate at the rear end of the carbide block.

FIG. 15 shows the side of forming die 106 facing the gap through whichthe resistor is drawn and at least the entrance end of this forming diealso comprises a carbide block 1060 in which at least the initialportion of groove 112 is located. This groove preferably extendscompletely across the face of the forming die to keep the resistor inplace and is not necessarily carbide completely across its lengthalthough this can be done, if desired.

FIGS. 14 and 15 will also show ejection cams or plates 120 fastened tothe bottoms of the forming dies 104 and 106 by screws 122. Theseejection cams or plates serve to dislodge the formed resistor from thewheel assembly after the resistor emerges from the forming dies and theresistor so ejected will drop between side plates 56a and 56b into chute56 and be discharged to the receiver for the finished resistors.

As will be seen in FIG. 10 by the dot-dash lines, the side plates 56aand 56b ofthe finished resistor chute are located inside the wheels 900and 90b and on opposite sides of the cen-, tral wheel 100. In thismanner the clipped off ends of the terminal leads will fall outside theside plates 56a and 56b while the finished resistors will be dischargedinto the space between side plates 56a and 56b. It is understood, ofcourse, that the side plates 56a and 56b are cut out, or terminate, inthe region in which the resistors are delivered to the forming wheel andwhere they pass through the forming station so as not to interfere withthe operation of the machine.

Slightly in advance of the point where the terminal leads of theresistor are cut off is the feeding station and which is illustratedsomewhat schematically in FIG. 12. In FIG. 12 the top It will beunderstood that the formlng members 104 and 106 and the blocks 96 whichcarry the cutting elements 94 are also preferably adjustably supportedon plate 14 so that all of the operative elements of the structure canbe brought into the proper interrelationship and locked in place. Theguide plates It has been mentioned that the resistor formed in the structure above described is that shown in FIG. 9 wherein the lefthandterminal lead has a rather long radius bend therein. The resistorillustrated in FIG. 8 which has a relatively small radius bend in theleft-hand lead would be constructed in exactly the same manner exceptthat the pinwhecl between the cutting wheels would carry pins of asmaller diameter and at least the forming member 104 would be adjustedover closer to the v central wheel 100. In the case of a wheel carryingquite small plate 14 from which the cutting and forming elements aresuspended is illustrated and the cutting station and the point where theformation of the resistor leads is initiated is at the top center of thewheel assembly 12. Somewhat in advance of this position, the inclinedguide plates 24 extend downwardly to closely adjacent the periphery ofthe wheel assembly. The resistors 30 are guided downwardly in slots 26and each reaches a terminal position identified at 130 and determined bya ledge 132 formed on the lower end of a pair of laterally guide members134 secured to the sides of a corresponding pair of the guide plates 24.Immediately adjacent the lowermost resistor in slots 26, in thedirection of the movement of the resistor, is a detent arm 136 pivotedat 138 and lightly spring pressed by a spring 140 toward the wheelassembly. A stop pin 142 limits the total possible movement of arm 136so that it will not drop down and interfere with rotation of the wheel.The nose end of arm 136 is rounded as at 144 so that when a resistor ispicked up by the wheel assembly and moved toward the right, as viewed inFIG. 12, arm 136 will be cammed upwardly and permit the resistor to passtherebeneath and advance toward the cutting and forming station. Arm 136will hold the resistor against the wheel assembly during this movementso that the resistor remains in an operative position on the wheel. Aswill be seen in FIG. 11, the resistor is fed with its body in the spacebetween pinwhecl 100 and cutter wheel 90b and in FIG. 12 the side ofcutter wheel 90!: is shown.

Referring back to FIG. 10, it will be noted that the wheel assembly forthe operation just described is made up by taking the central wheel 100,carrying the pins 102, and the two outer wheels 90a and 90b, carryingthe cutter elements 92, and bolting the wheels together as by screws,one of which is shown at 150 in FIG. 10 with spacer elements 152interposed between the individual wheels to produce the proper spacingthereof. The bolted together wheels are then located axially on shaft 74and are clamped in place by the clamp member 154 which may be secured inplace by set screws I56.

pins for making a very short radius bend in the lead of the resistor,the pins would preferably be set at the extreme edge of the supportingwheel therefore and could even project slightly therefrom and in thismanner the pins urged pass quite close to the forming member for bendingthe wire and thereby produce a relatively sharp bend in the wire.

.Turning now to the resistor of FIG. 7, this is advantageously formed byutilizing two pinwheels in the middle of the wheel assembly or by usingone pinwhecl with two sets of pins therein, one along each edge. Cuttingwheels would .be disposed on opposite sides of the center wheels andthese would slip the leads off and thereafter the pinwheels would drawthe resistor between a pair of forming members which would bend theleads backwardly to the position shown in FIG. 7. t

FIGS. 17 and 18 illustrate the manner in which a resistor according toFIG. 7 could be formed. FIG. 18 can be considered as a view taken online 18-18 of FIG. 17 and FIG. 17 can be considered to be a view takenon line 17-17 of FIG. 18. In

' these FIGS. the two cutting wheels are indicated at and carry carbideedged cutting elements 162 on the inner sides. Positioned between wheels[60 is a pinwhecl 164 which carries pins 166 along its opposite edges.Wheel 164 could, as mentioned, be in the form of two separate wheels soas to be adjustable to various sizes of resistors or could be in a formof a single wheel when a large quantity of'a single type of resistor wasto be produced. Movable cutter elements 162 cooperate with stationarycutting elements 168 carried on blocks 170 suspended from beneath a topplate 172 and blocks I70 carry forming members or dies 174. In thearrangement of FIGS. 17

and 18 the'resistors are delivered by an arrangement as shown in FIG. 12to the center wheel 164 and are moved thereby toward the stationarycutting edges and forming members. The resistor at A" in FIG. 17 is justat the point that clipping of the leads is to commence whereas resistor"B in FIG. 17 has passed completely through the lead clipping andforming station and has been ejected from the center wheel by ejectorplates or cams I76 and is dropping into chute 56.

As will be seen in FIG. 18, an arrangement of the nature illustrated inFIGS. 17 and 18 it may be advantageous to provide a hold down membersuspended from top plate 172 and positioned over the middle of thecenter wheel 164 for retaining the resistor in place on the wheel untilit reaches the point that the ejection cams I76 engage the resistor andpush it off said wheel.

For forming the resistor shown in FIG. 6, the same sort of operation iscarried out except that instead of the pins 166 on the center wheel 164,the center wheel of the type shown in type that are formed in the cutterwheels to receive the cutting inserts. In these notches 182 are formingmembers 184 which project radially from the edge of the wheel and whichpreferably are somewhat tapered from front to back. The resistor isreceived on wheel 180 between the forming elements 184, as shown indot-dash outline in FIG. 19 and is conveyed thereby between formingmembers such as are shown at 174 in FIGS. 17 and 18. In this mannerrelatively sharp bends can be produced in the terminal leads of theresistor as opposed to the rounded bends formed therein with thearrangement according to FIGS. 17 and 18.

It will be evident upon observation of FIG. 19 that ejection of theresistor therefrom cannot be accomplished readily with the same camarrangement that is shown in FIG. 17, although it is possible. ofcourse, to position the cams so that they ride close along the sides ofthe radially outwardly projecting end parts of the forming members, nogreat certainty of ejection of the resistors from the forming memberswill be had by this type of ejector. An ejector of the general nature ofthat shown in FIG. 20 would be suitable for ejecting formed resistorsfrom the wheel according to FIG. 19. FIG. 20 a relatively thin blade 190as provided which will engage underneath the resistors and lift them offthe forming members 184 and convey them away from the wheel so that theydrop into chute 56. Plate 190 could be supported on a bracket 192located in the chute 56 and in this manner the resistors would readilybe stripped from the wheel and dropped into the discharge chute.

The resistor according to FIG. could, of course, be made quite simplymerely by delivering the resistor to a pair of spaced cutting wheelswhich move past corresponding stationary cutting edges. This operationis shown in FIG. 21 wherein cutting-wheel 200 have cutting elements 202along the opposite edges thereof which move past stationary cuttingelements 204 which are supported on the support blocks 206. With thisarrangement the leads of the resistor are merely cut to length. Sincethe leads are not formed around any forming member, no particularejecting means for the resistors is required and they can be permittedmerely to drop from the cutter wheel into the discharge chute 56.

In the FIG. 21 arrangement it will be appreciated that it might be thecase that the leads would be clipped to such lengths that the movablecutter elements would be spaced substantially from the outer ends of theresistor element thereby introducing the possibility of the resistorshifting laterally in one direction or the other and coming out with oneshort lead and one long lead. This possibility can be overcome in anumber of different manners and FIG. 19 merely illustrates a pair ofsomewhat wedged shaped blocks 208 which guidingly engage the lower edgeof the resistor and hold it substantially centered between the cuttingelements so that the leads will be cut off at the same length. Thearrangement of FIG. 21 could, if desired, employ a hold down suspendedfrom the top plate for holding the resistor down against the rotatingcutter wheel until after the leads were severed, if so desired.

FIG. 22 illustrates one manner in which the motor 68 could becontrolled. FIG. 22 shows the on-off switch 46 which connects the powerlines L1 and L2 with the input side ofa reetifier 300. Neon lamp 50shows when switch 46 is closed. One side of the output side of therectifier is connected through reversing switch 48 with the reversiblemotor 68 and motor 68 is also connected to the other side of therectifier through the blade of a relay R. Relay R is normallydeenergized to complete the circuit to motor 68, but is energized whenthe supply of resistors feeding to the forming wheel is interrupted andphotocell 40 is illuminated by lamp 38. Neon lamp 52 indicates thecondition of energization of relay R and. thus, whether the machine isin operation or out of operation.

It will be understood that this invention is susceptible to modificationin order to adapt it to different usages and conditions; andaccordingly, it is devised to comprehend such modifications within thisinvention as may fall within the scope of the appended claims.

Iclaim:

1. In a machine for treating electrical components having terminal leadsextending therefrom in opposite directions, a

spaced from said feed means in the direction of movement of the adjacentperiphery of the wheel assembly, circumferentially spaced movable cuttercomponent treating elements radially projecting from said wheel assemblyand forming driving connections between said wheel assembly and saidcomponents and movable through said treatment station and past saidstationary elements which serve as complementary cutting components asthe wheel assembly rotates, said feed means being operable to supplysaid components one at a time to said wheel assembly during rotationthereof and immediately in front of the movable cutter componenttreating elements on said wheel assembly, said treating elementscooperating to effect cutting of the said components as the componentsare conveyed through said treatment station by said wheel assembly, andmeans for discharging the treated components from said machine.

2. A machine according to claim I in which said treating elements movein close proximity to each other and comprise stationary and movablecutter elements in said treatment station and on said wheel assemblyrespectively which cooperate for clipping the said leads of thecomponents as they pass through said treatment station.

3. A machine according to claim 2 in which said treating elements alsocomprise forming elements in the treatment station and on said wheelassembly which cooperate as the components pass through said treatmentstation to engage and bend at least one of said leads to a desiredconfiguration.

4. A machine according to claim 3 in which the forming elements compriseforming plate means in said treatment station extending parallel to thedirection of travel of the component and facing the adjacent end of thecomponent, said plate means having means for engaging and bending atleast one lead of the component passing through the treatment station.

5. A machine according to claim 4 in which the forming element on thewheel assembly cooperating with said forming plate comprises pin meansprojecting radially from the forming wheel assembly and moving close bysaid forming plate means.

6. A machine according to claim 4 in which the forming element on thewheel assembly cooperating with said forming plate comprises blade meansprojecting radially from the forming wheel assembly and moving close bysaid forming plate means.

7. A machine according to claim I in which said wheel assembly comprisesa shaft and wheels mounted thereon and axially adjustable thereon.

8. A machine according to claim 2 which includes a discharge chute forreceiving treated components from said wheel assembly and operable fordischarging the treated components to a receiving station.

9. A machine according to claim 8 which includes discharge meansseparate from said discharge chute for receiving the clipped off ends ofthe leads and discharging the said clipped offends to a scrap station.

10. A machine according to claim 3 which includes holddown means betweensaid predetermined peripheral point on said wheel assembly and saidtreatment station to hold said components against the periphery ofthewheel assembly.

I]. A machine according to claim 3 which includes a discharge chute forreceiving treated components from said wheel assembly and operable fordischarging the treated components to a receiving station, and meansfollowing said treatment station for ejecting treated components fromsaid wheel assembly and into said discharge chute.

12. A machine according to claim 1 which includes a drive motor for saidwheel assembly, and control means operable upon the interruption of thesupply of components in said feed means to interrupt the energizingcircuit to said motor.

13. A machine according to claim 12 in which said control means includesa light source on one side of the path of the components in said feedmeans and a photocell on the other side of said path, and a relay in themotor energizing circuit under the control of said photocell.

141 A machine according to claim 13 in which said drive motor isreversible, and manual switch means in the energizing circuit for saidmotor for effecting the reversal thereof.

15. A machine according to claim I in which said feed means comprisespairs of coplanar plates arranged in laterally spaced relation each pairof plates defining a gap therebetween for receiving one of the leads ofthe components being fed into the machine, said pair of plates beingadjustable laterally to accommodate components of different lengths.

16. A machine according to claim 15 in which said components aresupplied to said feed means in parallel side by side relation andsecured together by a binding tape, and said feed means includes meansfor stripping said binding tape from the components.

